NEW PROVIDENCE, N.J. -- April 13, 2015 – Summit Health Management (SHM) and Hackensack University Health Network (HackensackUHN) have signed a letter of intent for SHM to manage the employed and leased physician base of HackensackUHN and the possible development of a new entity co-owned by the parties. Emerging from the success of Summit Medical Group (SMG), the largest and oldest physician-owned multispecialty medical practice in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area and among the largest in the nation, SHM offers a quality-focused, entrepreneurial model of management services to physician practices across the United States.

The agreement is the first in New Jersey between HackensackUHN and a healthcare management services organization. When formalized, SHM and HackensackUHN will jointly work toward the development of a Management Services Agreement pursuant to which SHM shall provide certain management services to HackensackUHN physicians and to the new entity. Services provided by SHM to HackensackUHN may include strategic planning, clinical operations, central business operations and materials management, acquisition and business intelligence, provider resource management and human resources services, coding compliance, risk management, patient advocate and insurance services, population health service management, medical records management, and other services.

SHM and HackensackUHN hope to construct a new 50,000 square-foot ambulatory care facility that will serve as a “one-stop-shop” hub owned by HackensackUHN and managed by SHM. Services provided by SHM to HackensackUHN for this facility may include space planning, equipment planning, patient flow and work flow and clinical implementation. Together, HackensackUHN’s reputation for world-class healthcare and SMG’s experience in leading multispecialty outpatient facilities, will solidify best practices for both organizations and ultimately, for patients and their families.

“We are very pleased to partner with Hackensack University Health Network, a top innovator in New Jersey healthcare,” said Jeffrey LeBenger, MD, chairman and chief executive officer of Summit Medical Group and Summit Health Management. “Leveraging SMG’s expertise in family-friendly multispecialty care and SHM’s management of the employed physician model, we are all better positioned to lead in the ever-changing healthcare environment.”

“HackensackUHN strives to remain at the forefront of all facets of healthcare,” said Robert C. Garrett, president and chief executive officer of HackensackUHN. “We have long recognized the importance of successful partnerships with physicians and physician groups, and we believe that Summit Health Management will prove to be a successful partner since it is very similarly aligned with HackensackUHN’s goals.”

Summit Medical Group is the largest and oldest physician-owned multispecialty medical practice in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area and among the largest in the nation, with more than 550 practitioners and 2000 employees who support more than 80 medical specialties and services. Summit Medical Group physicians are consistently ranked as top doctors in local, state and regional surveys. In addition to its 250,000-square-foot campus in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, the Group has offices in northern and central New Jersey. SMG has recently opened a new 50,000-square-foot facility at 75 East Northfield Road in Livingston. In addition to the services offered in Livingston, including phlebotomy services, we will be adding imaging and a new Urgent Care Center in late summer 2015. Also in summer 2015, the Group will be opening a new 4-story, 100,000-square-foot campus at 140 Park Avenue in The Green at Florham Park, which will include an Urgent Care Center and Fast Track service, Ambulatory Surgery Center, comprehensive imaging / radiology, laboratory, and café as well as many other specialties to help meet patients live well and stay well.

About Summit Medical Group

Summit Medical Group (SMG) is the largest and oldest physician-owned multispecialty medical practice in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area and among the largest in the nation. SMG maintains a 42-acre healthcare campus in Berkeley Heights and additional practice locations in central and northern New Jersey. SMG has provided exceptional primary and specialty care since 1929. For more, visit www.summitmedicalgroup.com.

About Summit Health Management

Emerging from the success of Summit Medical Group, Summit Health Management offers an entrepreneurial model of management services to physician practices across the United States. Providing integrated care management at the center of every point of patient contact, SHM’s practice management services are focused in five discrete but inter-related categories essential to running a successful, enterprise-scale medical group: organizational structure and governance, operations management, revenue management, physician management, and population health management. For more information, visit www.summithealthmanagement.com

About Hackensack University Health Network

Hackensack University Health Network (HackensackUHN) is the New Jersey-based parent company of HackensackUMC, the HackensackUMC Foundation, Hackensack University Medical Groups, and corporate joint venture partners with LHP Hospital Group in ownership of two hospitals: HackensackUMC at Pascack Valley and HackensackUMC Mountainside. In 2015, the Network signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Seton Hall University to form the only private school of medicine in New Jersey. In late 2014, HackensackUHN announced its plans to merge with Meridian Health, forming the largest integrated health system in the state. Also in 2014, HackensackUHN announced that Palisades Medical Center will become a full member of the Network. Together with six other health systems, the Network is part of the nation’s largest healthcare consortium of its kind, AllSpire Health Partners. HackensackUHN also enjoys clinical and academic affiliations with some of the nation’s most well-renowned health systems, hospitals and universities, including: CityMD, Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, MinuteClinic, North Shore-LIJ Health System, NYU Langone Medical Center’s Division of Pediatric Surgery, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, St. George’s University, Statesir Cancer Center at CentraState Medical Center, and Stevens Institute of Technology. With more than 11,300 employees, 3,100 credentialed medical staff members and 1,697 hospital and nursing home beds at hospitals within the Network, Hackensack University Health Network is one of the largest healthcare systems in New Jersey.

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